CUPE municipal workers from across Saskatchewan are gathering today at the Delta Regina for their annual conference.

“Municipal workers across Saskatchewan continue to face challenges as cash-strapped cities and towns make budget cuts, privatize, outsource, and contract out vital services that their residents rely on,” said Dylan Breland, CUPE Municipal Employees Steering Committee (MESC) and an employee for the City of Melville.

“Our members have had a tough few years, dealing with layoffs and increasingly precarious work.  As the largest union representing municipal workers in the province, we’re working hard to make sure that the public services our communities depend on are there when they need them, and that they are kept in public hands instead of being outsourced to private companies that provide fewer and lower quality services which end up costing communities more in the long run.”

“I’m proud to be a municipal worker – we’re the ones who keep our cities and towns running – from fixing and maintaining roads, testing drinking water, running ice rinks and community centres, maintaining parks and everything in between,” added Breland.  “Every day, we work hard to make our communities a better place.”

The CUPE Saskatchewan Municipal Workers’ Steering Committee represents over 5,000 CUPE members in over 30 municipal locals across the province.